New Atlanta restaurants: Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse

The death of the great American steakhouse has been perennially exaggerated, it seems.

Witness the number of meat-centered restaurant openings around metro Atlanta in the past year or so, including Kaiser's Chophouse in Sandy Springs, C. Ellet's at The Battery, Little Alley Steak in Buckhead, and Arnette's Chop Shop in Brookhaven.

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, which debuted in mid-September in the new Park Center development in Dunwoody, promises to bring another level of luxury and service to the tried-and-true expense account and special occasion formula.

The newest of 16 Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse locations across the U.S., the Perimeter Center Parkway NE address is touted as being convenient to a burgeoning number of shops, hotels and other amenities.

Designed by Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry, the sprawling 11,000-square-foot, two-story space has two indoor bars, plus a patio bar, and a maze of dining areas and private rooms. A “floating” wine cellar, oak and leather accents, and midcentury modern lighting fixtures set the scene for “Mad Men” power lunches and business dinners.

Executive chef Matt Townley presides over a world of hefty USDA Prime wet- and dry-aged steaks, with the signature 45-day, dry-aged, double bone-in prime rib-eye Double Eagle steak weighing in at 32 ounces.

But the menu also offers fresh seafood flown in daily, entree-size sides such as lobster macaroni and cheese and the Uptown Del’s Potato, and decadent desserts made in-house.

And the upscale beverage program features an award-winning wine list curated by location, over a dozen house cocktails, and a surprising number of Georgia craft beers on draft.

Last week, Townley sat down to talk about his history with Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, and reveal a bit more about the concept and menu.

“I grew up in Michigan and went to Johnson & Wales in Charlotte, N.C., for culinary school,” Townley said. “My very first restaurant job was at a barbecue restaurant in Charlotte, so coming from small-town Michigan, that was a big eye-opener.

“But I ended up moving to Denver, and I worked at the Del Frisco’s steakhouse there, then took a sous chef position at the Del Frisco’s steakhouse in Dallas. From there, I transferred to a new opening in Plano, Texas, and took the executive chef position in Atlanta.”

Asked what sets Del Frisco’s apart from other steakhouse concepts, Townley smiled and answered, “Everything.”

“It’s not just the food. It’s not just the hospitality. It’s everything all put together,” he said. “Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse is just an elevated experience overall. From the moment you step out of your car at the valet, to the moment you get to the host stand, and are greeted and served at your table, every single part of the dining experience is elevated.

“But then there’s the food, like the 32-ounce Double Eagle, the Uptown Potato, the heirloom tomato salad with house-made burrata. We use the finest produce we can get, brought in daily to the restaurant. Something like our calamari, we get flown in fresh from Foley Fish in Boston every day.”

So who comes to Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse to take in all this hospitality and fine food and beverage?

“It is a lot of people celebrating life, celebrating a business promotion, celebrating a deal they just made, celebrating a birthday,” Townley said. “But then there are people that are just regulars, and love Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, and love what we do here.”

236 Perimeter Center Parkway NE, Suite 120, Dunwoody. 770-274-0309, delfriscos.com/steakhouse/atlanta.

Scroll down for more images from a First Look at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse in Dunwoody